25 things I wish I knew ...

[BluesLover]

I saw this on another forum and shamelessly stole it - I thought it was worth sharing.

TWENTY-FIVE THINGS I WISH I HAD KNOWN WHEN I STARTED (1978)

1. Never park your bike downhill into a parking space.
2. Never park your bike downhill without being in gear.
3. Never leave your bike running and unattended downhill.
4. Never stop your bike with the front wheel turned.
5. Use your rear brake as the control brake at slow speeds.
6. Turn your head and look over your shoulder during U-turns.
7. Look where you want to go.
8. Don't always believe the neutral light.
9. Always downshift to first gear before coming to stop.
10. Check your tire pressure regularly.
11. Keep your eyes level with the horizon when coming to a stop.
12. Practice your starts and stops on different inclines.
13. Practice stopping with only your left foot down.
14. Change your tires when the minimum tread depth is 1.5mm f & 2.0mm r.
15. Be prepared for wet weather; invest in top quality raingear.
16. You will drop your bike no matter how new or old it may be.
17. Unless your leather is lined, the black dye will run when it is wet.
18. You can be cold at speed on a 70 degree day.
19. Dress in layers with adequate air space in between.
20. Two full seasons on an “Un-Tendered Battery” is reasonable, any more will tempt fate.
21. Take the time to winterize your bike properly for storage.
22. Buy the best helmet you can afford and one that fits. It's your brain.
23. There is only one thing worse than wet…..its cold and wet.
24. Cornering is the reason we ride in the first place. Become a master of the turns.
25. Countersteering is the only way to turn your bike quickly!

This is a very unforgiving sport, if you or someone else makes a mistake, you can pay for it dearly. You need to be an eternal student and minimize your risks. This is especially important as we get older and our physical abilities deteriorate.

Please feel free to add to this post and number your tips accordingly. Let's keep the new riders out of harms way and prevent them from becoming a statistic. Remember, we were all rookies once.

[BluesLover]

20. The two most useless things to a rider are the braking distance behind you and nine-tenth of a second ago.
19. Remember, gravity and centrifugal force are not just a good ideas. They're laws and are not subject to appeal.
18. Keep looking around. There's always something you've missed.
17. Good judgment comes from experience. Unfortunately, the experience usually comes from bad judgment.
16. In the ongoing battle between objects made of metal, rubber and fibreglass going 100+ miles per hour and the ground going zero miles per hour, the ground has yet to lose. Same holds for cars, large trucks, and animals taller than you. Draws don't count.
15. If all you can see in your mirrors is sparks and all you can hear is screaming from your passenger, things may not be as they should be.
14. You start with a bag full of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience before you empty the bag of luck.
13. There are two simple rules for riding smoothly and fast in snow and on ice. Unfortunately no one knows what they are.
12. Always try to keep the number of times you put your sidestand down equal to the number of times you put the sidestand up.
11. Never let a motorcycle take you somewhere your brain didn't get to three seconds earlier.
10. You know you've left the sidestand down when all left turn are Bat-turns. You know you've left the centerstand down when your in 1st gear at 4000 rpm going nowhere.
9. Learn from the mistakes of others. You won't live long enough to make all of them yourself.
8. When in doubt slow down. No one has ever hit something too slow.
7. The rear wheel is just a big fan on back of the bike used to keep the rider cool and his/her butt relaxed. If going into a corner too fast, slamming on the rear brake causes the "fan" to abruptly stop. When this happens you can actually see the rider start sweating and his/her butt become tense.
6. The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire
5. It's always better to be on the sidelines wishing you were on the track than on the track wishing you were on the sidelines.
4. Riding isn't dangerous. Crashing is dangerous.
3. If you push the bars left, the bike goes left. If you push the bars right, the bike goes right. That is, unless you continue pushing the bars all the way, then the bike will go down.
2. Every ride is optional
1. A 'good' ride is one from which you can walk away. A 'great' ride is one after which you can use the bike again.

[Freebird]

This is one that I can add....wear the proper footwear. This kind of goes along with number 13. You can't put your left foot down if your shoe laces are wrapped around the shift peg. Don't ask how I know. :starz:

[rod]

<foot down if your shoe laces are wrapped around the shift peg>
I know that one and I will not tell how either. Rod

[Albino Rhino]

If you can't stop in the distance you can see without crashing, you're going too fast.

[GeorgeS]

Except for one thing,

All Steering, Is Counter Steering, except under about 5 MPH.

I know a lot of people don't believe this.

Proove it to yourself on a bycle.

[Doug]

I think the first 3 are useless.
Why would you park down hill anyway?
Doug

[Turbo Rat]

and may I add,if you lean,under 1 mph,you will fall down,dont ask me how I know either

[SilvrT]

Quote "Dress in layers with adequate air space in between."

First of all, what is considered "adequate" air space?
Secondly, I've always wondered...if you have layers, how do you get air space in between as each layer "lays" against the next.?

(just a couple "dumb" questions)

Now for my "tip"...
never take a running "mount" on your bike from the left side as you'll probably wind up on the ground, on the right side of the bike, with the bike on top of you. "hi ho silver!"

(don't ask me to explain how I know this)
:sign20:

[Yammer Dan]

Loose baggy pants have a way of grabbing the shifter or anything handy just when you want to put your foot down.

[Marcarl]

The one most important lesson I was taught at rider training, and probably put that way because we think of it too late as an afterthought:

[Just-Jack]

The most important thing that was ever taught to me while i was riding my bike was "Which one is the throttle and which one is the brake".....Tree and bikes dont make really good friends either...dont ask...Just look at my saying at the end:sign It wasnt me:

[Dusk]

Stopping while in the middle of a turn... not a good thing.